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PCCW's acquisition of Sunday Communications has set the hearts of telecoms watchers aflutter, but rival operators are unimpressed.

The pair's first bundle offers 300 mobile minutes from Sunday combined with PCCW's fixed-line services for a flat rate of $110. The offer - priced the same as PCCW's basic fixed-line package - is available to PCCW customers and could help stem line losses or win back customers lost to rivals.

New World Mobility and sister company New World Telecom are capable of offering a similar bundle but have yet to do so. They believe it would create little additional value for customers because consumers liked to shop around, company sources said.

Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) praised the bundling but said operators had to get the package right, noting its own failed efforts to offer fixed-line and international direct dial bundling.

What worked instead, said HKBN chairman Ricky Wong Wai-kay, was bundling services around a network.

This was where the 'triple play' of voice, pay television and internet access came in, he said.